Wise Review Australia

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Wise money transfer

Send payments with Wise to bank accounts in 70+ countries. Arrange your transfer online or in the Wise app and pay by bank transfer, card, PayID or POLi. You’ll get currency exchange which uses the mid-market  exchange rate and low fees from 0.41%. Wise payments are processed through Wise’s own payment network - which means they can be far faster than transfers made with your bank. 50%+ of Wise payments arrive instantly, and almost all are there on the same day.

Great for: individuals and businesses looking to send fast, secure international payments to bank accounts in 70+ countries

Wise has built its own payment network which is cheaper and faster to operate compared to SWIFT - the system used by traditional banks to send international transfers. That means better prices and faster transfers. 

The way Wise works is actually surprisingly simple. Instead of moving money across borders through complex payment networks, Wise has its own network of accounts in all the countries it operates in. When you make a payment in AUD you send it in dollars to the Wise account in Australia. Wise then transfers the equivalent amount from their account in the destination country, in the currency you need. That means no money really has to cross borders, cutting the costs and the time involved.

Regular banks on the other hand typically use the SWIFT network - a network of partner banks which pass payments between themselves until they reach the correct destination account. SWIFT is established and reliable - but also expensive and slow. Each bank involved in the payment chain can add an intermediary fee which is tricky to predict and pushes up prices. 

With Wise, because there are no intermediaries, there are also no surprise costs - allowing a more transparent payment structure.

How much can I save with Wise?

Let’s start out with a price comparison for sending money with Wise versus some of our major Australian banks. We’ll look at which provider wins over a few different transaction values to give a flavour:

As you can see, in our example payments, your recipient got more with Wise compared to using the sample banks, across all 3 payment values. This is because Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate - the one you find on Google - and often has lower transfer fees than your regular bank, too. More on how Wise charges coming up later.

You can open a multi-currency Wise account entirely online or in the Wise app. Here’s how: 

1. Open the Wise homepage or app
2. Click Register
3. Follow the prompts to enter your personal details
4. Get verified
5. You’re ready to go

What documents you'll need

Just like when you open an account with your regular bank, Wise has to ask for documents to prove your identity. This is a legally required step to keep customers and their money safe. You can complete this verification step online or in the Wise app by uploading images of your documents, and save and return to the process later if you need to.

For a personal Wise account you’ll usually need to provide:

• Proof of your identity - like a passport or driving licence
• Proof of address - like a bank statement or utility bill in your name.

For a Wise business account you’ll normally need the above, plus:

• Business documentation which can vary based on entity type
• Names, date of birth, and country of residence for any directors and shareholders who own 25% or more of the business

How long does verification take

Verification may be done instantly - this is often the case if you’re sending a relatively low value  payment from a bank account in your own name. If you need to upload additional documents verification can still be done on the same day in some cases - or certainly within a couple of working days.

Learn more about how safe Wise is